Ivanka Trump:

As executive vice president of development and acquisitions for the Trump Organization, Ivanka Trump would qualify as successful on the basis of her résumé alone: At 33, she plays a key role in the business owned by her dad, developer Donald Trump; has launched an accessories line, Ivanka Trump; and is mom to Arabella, three, and Joseph, one. But she feels most successful when she's doing what she loves: "Every day, I feel good or bad based on how I've spent my time," says Trump. "My goal is to feel good more than bad."

"I've always had a pretty rambunctious spirit," says Trump, photographed at Trump Park Avenue in New York City.

Why I went into the family business: "When I was young my mother was in charge of the iconic Plaza Hotel in New York [then a Trump property]. She'd take me to work, where I would race through the hallways, play in the elevators, and snoop through the basement. The hotel employees joked that I was the real-life Eloise. And I remember playing with Legos on the floor of my father's office as he negotiated deals. His work was so exciting. I knew I wanted to get involved as soon as I could."

Success Is...

"Doing what

you love."

—Ivanka Trump

How I do things My way: "Early in my career I was concerned with whether people felt I had earned my place in the Trump Organization, but time has enabled me to establish myself in my own right. Also, it's incredibly gratifying to see my fashion brand become what I created the company to be—a resource to empower women."

The motto I live by: "I'm overseeing a couple of billion-dollar development projects, and I don't think there's a day that goes by that I'm relaxed about that. But my father has famously said, 'If you're going to think, think big.' I always shoot for the stars."

My definition of success: "I know plenty of people who are outwardly highly successful and inwardly miserable—and to me that is not success, that's the opposite of it. Success is setting goals that feel true to who you are, not to what others expect of you. And that can change. My husband and I are both incredibly career-oriented. But the day Arabella was born reset my priorities. I became efficient in ways I never knew were possible—having a beautiful little person at home waiting for you will do that!"